Relative newcomer Tony Patrick has joined forces with industry stars Scott Snyder and Cully Hamner to tell the adventures of the DC Universe's latest member of the Bat-family Duke Thomas in the pages of Batman and The Signal. And when you consider Patrick's past as a youth mentor in east New York, readers should understand very quickly why he is absolutely the right choice for the job.

An alumnus of DC's Writers Workshop in 2016, Patrick made his big break in comics in 2015 with X'ed for Black Mask Studios. Patrick has now transitioned to one of the Big Two and he told CBR that he didn't want to throw away his shot at writing a young black character finding his way as both a superhero and a man. Beyond his proven track record, Patrick's extensive experience working with teens leaves him well equipped to understand decisions, right and wrong, being made by fictional adolescents whether they are being trained by the World's Greatest Detective or left to their own devices in the newly created Arkham Juvenile Detention Centre.

RELATED: The Signal: Duke Thomas Proves He’s Gotham’s Perfect Daylight Protector

CBR: It seems strange talking about Batman and The Signal a day after 17 children were killed in their classrooms. As a storyteller, how does this level of violence affect how you portray youth in comics?

Tony Patrick: I think you have to be very aware of violence in any media. I think when we are talking about the writing process, I’m also very mindful of how much violence there is in my narratives, and how much of that violence is essential to good storytelling – that’s the focus. How can I find the most powerful way to tell story and I can do that without weapons? Can I do that with combat? Can I do that with words? It really pushes you towards a better and more powerful form of storytelling. But it’s definitely something to be mindful of, especially when you see all of the violence that is happening all over our news at the moment. It’s our job to tell the best story that we can, as carefully as we can and as powerfully as we can.

And the level of violence that Duke Thomas requires to fight crime is, in fact, lessened because he also has such a high intellect. Does that then become the balancing act, Duke’s brain versus his brawn?

Page 2: [valnet-url-page page=2 paginated=0 text='The%20Signal%20Is%20More%20About%20Brain%20than%20Brawn']



When you are talking about brain and brawn, you want those things to be proportionate. This is the cool part about Duke Thomas. He’s his own person, but he’s also a teenager, who has to become his own man and has to become his own hero. He needs to find his place in the DC Universe. I think there is a lot of exploration that he is going to encounter in future narratives. His intellect definitely plays a major part in his development plus he’s been trained by the world’s greatest detective – Batman. All of those things come into play.

It’s something that has been discussed a lot already in the first two issues of the series. The Signal is definitely not the next Robin? What does giving Duke his own superhero identity mean for him as a character and what does it represent?

RELATED: Batman: White Knight Introduces A Very Different Duke Thomas

Batman says that he is trying something new. He knows about his past successes and past failures with past Robins. And here is an opportunity that he has to get in on the ground floor with a new meta-human hero. If you could train Clark Kent prior to him becoming Superman or during his first year as a superhero, what would that be like? It also allows Batman to have a daytime emissary, who can get into those nooks and crannies that he can’t get into because he is too inundated with nighttime activity. He finally has someone to act in his stead during the day. That is a new opportunity for Duke. And another level, it’s also a chance for DC Comics and the Bat-group to explore a new daytime ecosystem in Gotham. It’s a new time period in Gotham to explore that sheds light on the city itself. For me, it’s an incredible opportunity to work on this book.

Art from Batman and the Signal #2

And his superpower echoes that, as well. Duke can see where light has been and where it’s going. Why is now the right time to explore Gotham by day?

Scott [Snyder] first talked about Duke Thomas a year ago and we both felt that there was this incredible opportunity to do something new. And to have The Signal be the character that brings us into daytime Gotham and the character that starts to solve the mysteries connected to that time of day is really exciting. This is new way of thinking. We are going to see heroes and villains grown in the sunlight in Gotham. DC is also currently approaching the New Age of Heroes and this was another new opportunity to play around with some old Gotham mythos and shed some new light on it.

Batman and The Signal can be read very much self-contained but it’s also a part of the Metal mega-event. As a fan of comics, you must be stoked to be playing within the DC Universe right now.

Art from Batman and the Signal #2

[Laughs] Absolutely. I am torn on so many levels. It’s a great opportunity to write this series, to work with Scott Snyder, Cully Hamner, Laura Martin, Deron Bennett and Brittany Holzherr, I feel like it’s the Oscars when I say all of their names at one time. I work with an incredible team on this book, who are working diligently to turn out the best tale and art and letters and colors that we can get in the business. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am trying to take it and run with it.

I am thrilled and overjoyed to be a part of it. It is hard work, and sometimes there is high pressure work that is associated with it, but I am up for it and just ready to dive in. But then, also, just as a fan of comics and a fanboy, I hit the jackpot when it comes to Metal. This is an incredible story, and I am so lucky to be a part of it. If you asked me last year, I never would have imagined that I would have been working for DC in this way or being a part of such a star-studded event as Metal. Incredible. When you get a chance to see just the mental writing and artistic firepower coming out of Metal, it’s incredible. So to be associated, wow! It’s still unbelievable to me.

Page 3: [valnet-url-page page=3 paginated=0 text='Gnomon%3A%20Gotham%20City%27s%20New%20Villain%2C%20Explained']



With full thanks to Alexa, I now know that Gnomon is Greek for “one that knows or examines” and is also the part of a sundial that casts a shadow. What else can you share about your new Gotham villain?

[Laughs] There you go. You’re doing your research. [Laughs] There is a lot I can’t say. But what I can say is that it’s pretty ballsy to highjack the Batcomputer to deliver a message to Batman. Hmm. We’ll how that plays out. This is a new villain that is obviously connected to some of the metas popping up in Gotham and I am thrilled to be able to help generate a new baddie for Batman and a new big bad for the DC Universe.

RELATED: Batman Explains Why ‘Lark’ Was the Wrong Superhero Name for Duke Thomas

And here is my highlight for Batman and The Signal #2. It starts off with an Arkham juvy. To me, that is something that I would love to play with in the future beyond this book because there are so many opportunities there. Circling back to your initial question, when we talk about the current ills of society and teenage communities, I think Arkham juvy is an opportunity to see if some of our teens can be rehabilitated if there are opportunities for them to become a part of our New Age of Heroes. Or if some of them are going to turn into the next Joker or Two-Face.

Art from Batman and the Signal #2

Duke Thomas isn’t the only black superhero making headlines right now as Black Panther is also getting incredible reviews. Have you had a chance to see the film? And more importantly, have we finally arrived at a time when representation, diversity and inclusion are taken seriously by Hollywood and other entertainment industries?

I think we have a reached a time when there is a huge opportunity here and I hope people are smart enough to fully embrace it and follow through on it with all of these new IPs and creative opportunities that present themselves. I feel like I am the pun guy, but this weekend is definitely the signal of new things to come. [Laughs] And when we talk about Batman and The Signal, specifically, this is the opportunity that DC has created to do diversity and inclusion correctly. You have a homegrown character, built over the last few years, that we have watched evolve from a minor character into an autonomous Robin being trained by Batman into his own hero. And we’ll get a chance, and hopefully I’ll be a part of it, to see him evolve into one of those top-tier heroes.

And yes, of course I am going to see Black Panther. And of course, I am very proud of some of the work that is out there. And proud of people who have dared to take those risks. And it’s an honor to be able to contribute to it, in particular to DC’s canon, and generate more stories that might resonate with people, who have been waiting for these stories forever.